The Empire in Star Wars Battlefront II no longer has a leader, because Emperor Palpatine has been removed from the game.

EA DICE acknowledged the removal of the character in a list of patch notes posted to the game’s official forums, though they didn’t give a definite reason.

“We plan to execute our Kill Switch (KS) for [Palpatine],” the notes read. “This means he will be removed from the game. He will be disabled until a hotfix can be deployed. We don’t take this decision lightly, but we feel it is in the best interest for everyone until a fix can be deployed.”

Despite no reason for his removal being listed, some fans think they know what’s going on. When he first appeared in-game, Emperor Palpatine had powerful lightning abilities—so strong, in fact, that his Electrocute ability broke the game and let Palpatine damage players through walls. Not long after, Palpatine was nerfed to prevent his damage from spreading so far.

Earlier this month, however, a new patch appeared in the game, and one of the hotfixes affected how Palpatine’s lightning works on enemies in close range. Based on the complaints of some players on social media, it seems that Palpatine’s ability to zap enemies through walls is back, and breaking the game again.

Hopefully, if this is the case, EA DICE will be back with a fix for Palpatine that works for good this time.

About Emma Schaefer

Emma’s early gaming was mostly done in secret, as the only gamer in a family of normal people. She still retains skills from this dark period in her life, such as the ability to teleport instantly across the house away from the computer, and holds a gold medal in the Olympic sport of “Hide the Gameboy.” Sorry, Mom, now you know. Find her on Twitter @Emma4EGM

Emperor Palpatine has been pulled from Star Wars Battlefront II

Everything is probably not proceeding as Palpatine had foreseen.

The Empire in Star Wars Battlefront II no longer has a leader, because Emperor Palpatine has been removed from the game.

EA DICE acknowledged the removal of the character in a list of patch notes posted to the game’s official forums, though they didn’t give a definite reason.

“We plan to execute our Kill Switch (KS) for [Palpatine],” the notes read. “This means he will be removed from the game. He will be disabled until a hotfix can be deployed. We don’t take this decision lightly, but we feel it is in the best interest for everyone until a fix can be deployed.”

Despite no reason for his removal being listed, some fans think they know what’s going on. When he first appeared in-game, Emperor Palpatine had powerful lightning abilities—so strong, in fact, that his Electrocute ability broke the game and let Palpatine damage players through walls. Not long after, Palpatine was nerfed to prevent his damage from spreading so far.

Earlier this month, however, a new patch appeared in the game, and one of the hotfixes affected how Palpatine’s lightning works on enemies in close range. Based on the complaints of some players on social media, it seems that Palpatine’s ability to zap enemies through walls is back, and breaking the game again.

Hopefully, if this is the case, EA DICE will be back with a fix for Palpatine that works for good this time.

About Emma Schaefer

Emma’s early gaming was mostly done in secret, as the only gamer in a family of normal people. She still retains skills from this dark period in her life, such as the ability to teleport instantly across the house away from the computer, and holds a gold medal in the Olympic sport of “Hide the Gameboy.” Sorry, Mom, now you know. Find her on Twitter @Emma4EGM